Family Delphacidae

Subfamily Delphacinae

Tribe Delphacini

 

Distribution: Mostly tropical Asia, Australia, parts of Africa and the Middle East, but Perkinsiella saccharicida Kirkaldy, 1903 widely introduced where sugarcane is grown. Perkinsiella saccharicida was introduced into Hawaii in 1900, and into Florida (at least) in the early 1980s. Perkinsiella saccharicida has spread into Central and South America.

Type species: Perkinsiella saccharicida Kirkaldy, 1903

Recognized species

35 currently recognized species worldwide as follows (distribution records incomplete, a few records need to be checked):

1 Perkinsiella amboinensis Muir, 1911 - Malaysia
2 Perkinsiella bakeri Muir, 1916 - Philippine Islands, Taiwan, Vietnam, western Caroline Is., (Palau)
3 Perkinsiella bicoloris Muir, 1911 - Papua New Guinea
4 Perkinsiella bigemina Ding, 1980 - China
5 Perkinsiella boreon Fennah, 1979 - Papua New Guinea
6 Perkinsiella bulli Fennah, 1979 - Papua New Guinea
7 Perkinsiella diagoras Fennah, 1979 - Papua New Guinea
8 Perkinsiella dorsata (Melichar, 1905) - Nigeria
9 Perkinsiella facialis (Distant, 1912) - India
10 Perkinsiella falcipennis Fennah, 1979 - Papua New Guinea
11 Perkinsiella fuscipennis Muir, 1916 - Philippine Islands
12 Perkinsiella graminicida Kirkaldy, 1906 - Australia, Queensland
13 Perkinsiella insignis (Distant, 1912) - India, West Africa, Afghanistan, Cyprus, Iraq, Israel, Turkey
14 Perkinsiella lalokensis Muir, 1911 - Papua New Guinea
15 Perkinsiella lineata Muir, 1916 - Philippine Islands
16 Perkinsiella macrinus Fennah, 1979 - Papua New Guinea
17 Perkinsiella manilae Muir, 1917 -: Philippine Islands
18 Perkinsiella miriamae Emeljanov, 1987 - Vietnam
19 Perkinsiella mycon Fennah, 1979 - Papua New Guinea
20 Perkinsiella neoinsignis Muir, 1923 - Indonesia
21 Perkinsiella pallidula Muir, 1911 - Borneo
22 Perkinsiella papuensis Muir, 1911 - Papua New Guinea
23 Perkinsiella pseudosinensis Muir, 1916 - Philippine Islands
24 Perkinsiella rattlei Muir, 1911 - Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia
25 Perkinsiella rivularis Linnavuori, 1964 - Israel
26 Perkinsiella saccharicida Kirkaldy, 1903 -  USA: Hawaii, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas; Mexico, Columbia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru (introduced); Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Fiji, Philippine Islands, Taiwan, China, Mauritius, Bonin Island, Papua New Guinea, Reunion, Madagascar, South Africa (widespread in Pacific, Indo-Malayan, and Australian regions )
27 Perkinsiella saccharivora Muir, 1916 - Philippine Islands
28 Perkinsiella sinensis Kirkaldy, 1907 - China, Borneo, Japan, Taiwan, India, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Palau
29 Perkinsiella thompsoni Muir, 1913 - Guam, western Micronesia (Saipan, Palau, Yap Is., Truk Is.), Indonesia (Java), Taiwan, Marinace Is., Papua New Guinea
30 Perkinsiella variegata Muir, 1911 - Papua New Guinea
31 Perkinsiella vastatrix (Breddin, 1896) - Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippine Islands, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan, Japan, Sundra Islands; Tanganyika, East Africa
32 Perkinsiella vitalisi Muir, 1925 - Vietnam
33 Perkinsiella vitiensis Kirkaldy, 1906 - Fiji, Savage Island (Polynesia), Samoa
34 Perkinsiella yakushimensis Ishihara, 1954 - Japan (Yakushima)
35 Perkinsiella yuanjiangensis Ding, 1985 - China

 

Economic Importance

Perkinsiella saccharicida is the sugarcane planthopper, a widespread and important pest of sugarcane and a vector of fiji disease (fiji leaf gall).  Perkinsiella vastatrix and P. vitiensis are also vectors.

An extension pamphlet (from Centro de Investigación de la Caña de Azúcar de Colombia, in Spanish) is here.

An older (1984) circular from Florida on the sugarcane planthopper is here.

Recorded hosts

Perkinsiella lalokensis, P. papuensis, P. rattlei, P. rivularis, P. saccharicida, P. sinensis, P. thompsoni, and P. vastatrix have all been recorded from sugarcane. Perkinsiella sinensis has also been reported from Andropogon sorghum (= Sorghum halepense (L.)Pers., Johnsongrass), Phragmites communis, and Rice (Oryza sativa).

Recognition

Perkinsiella bakeri

Perkinsiella saccharicida - This species is introduced into the United States.  It occurs in large numbers on sugarcane.

Perkinsiella vastatrix (male top row, female bottom - frons is similar between sexes)

Perkinsiella vitiensis (dorsal and lateral view are females)

 

Molecular resources

There are limited molecular resources available for Perkinsiella. On Genbank there is some sequence data (internal transcribed spacer sequences) for for Perkinsiella saccharicida, P. thompsoni and P. vitiensis here.  There is no barcode data for this genus on BOLD.

 

Selected References

Allsop, P. G. and R. M. Bull. 1990. Sampling distributions and sequential sampling plans for Perkinsiella saccharicida Kirkaldy (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) and Tytthus spp.(Hemiptera: Miridae) on sugarcane. Journal of Economic Entomology. 83(6):2284-2289.

Badilla F., W. Jara and W. Gordillo. 2004. Control of the leaf-hopper Perkinsiella saccharicida with the fungi Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae. Manejo Integrado de Plagas y Agroecologica 73: 29-34.

CAB International Institute of Entomology. 1987. Perkinsiella saccharicida Kirkaldy - Hemiptera: Delphacidae. Sugarcane leafhopper/planthopper. Commonwealth Institute of Entomology Distribution Maps of Pests Series A Agricultural No. 150 (revised) .

Dhileepan, K. and B. J. Croft. 2003. Resistance to Fiji disease in sugar cane: Role of cultivar preference by planthopper vector Perkinsiella saccharicida (Homoptera: Delphacidae). Journal of Economic Entomology 96(1): 148-155.

Dhileepan, K., B. J. Croft, A. W. Ridley, A. P. James, and S. Raghu. 2006. Susceptibility of source plants to Sugarcane Fiji disease virus influences the acquisition and transmission of the virus by the planthopper vector Perkinsiella saccharicida. Journal of Applied Entomology 130(1): 67-71.

Emeljanov, A. F. 1988. A new planthopper species of the genus Perkinsiella Kirkaldy (Homoptera, Delphacidae) from Vietnam. Entomological Review 67(1): 108-111.

Emeljanov, A. F. 1994. The species of Perkinsiella introduced into Florida is the genuine P. saccharicida Kirkaldy (Homoptera: Delphacidae). Zoosystematica Rossica 3(1): 18.

Fennah, R. G. 1956. Insects of Micronesia, Homoptera: Fulgoroidea. Bernice P. Bishop Museum Insects of Micronesia 6(3): 39-211.

Fennah, R. G. 1979. New species and new records of Perkinsiella (Homoptera: Delphacidae) form Papua New Guinea. Bulletin of Entomological Research 69(3): 507-517. [poor copy]

Francki, R.I.B., C. C. Ryan, T. Hatta, J. Rohozinski, and C. J. Grivell. 1986.Serological detection of Fiji disease virus antigens in the planthopper Perkinsiella saccharicida and its inefficient ability to transmit the virus. Plant Pathology (Oxford) 35(3): 324-328.

Harris, R.H.G. 1970. Perkinsiella saccharicida Kirkaldy (Homoptera: Delphacidae) an insect pest of sugarcane in Southern Africa. Proceedings of the South African Sugar Technologists' Association 44: 169-174.

Hughes, G. L., P. Allsopp, S. Brumbley, K. N. Johnson. and S. L. O'Neill. 2008. In Vitro Rearing of Perkinsiella saccharicida and the Use of Leaf Segments to Assay Fiji disease virus Transmission. Phytopathology 98 7: 810-814.

Jiang, J., Ridley, A. W., Tang, H., Croft, B. J., and Johnson, K.N. 2008. Genetic variability of genome segments 3 and 9 of Fiji disease virus field isolates. Archives of virology 153(5): 839-848.

Mendoza, M. J. 2005. Management of Perkinsiella saccharicida in sugarcane in Ecuador. Sugarcane International 23(6): 7-9.

Osborn, A. W. 1969. Polymorphism in males of the sugarcane planthopper Perkinsiella saccharicida. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 62(3): 247.

Sosa, O., Jr. 1983. Perkinsiella saccharicida Kirkaldy, a vector [of] disease found in the United States. Entomology Newsletter 4: 25-28.

Sosa, O., Jr. 1985. The sugarcane delphacid Perkinsiella saccharicida (Homoptera: Delphacidae), a sugarcane pest new to North America detected in Florida. Florida Entomologist 68(2): 357-360.

Taniguchi., G. Y., A. K. Ota., and V.C.S. Chang. 1980. Effects of Fiji viral disease-resistant sugarcane (Saccharum sp.) on the biology of the sugarcane delphacid Perkinsiella saccharicida. Journal of Economic Entomology. 73(5): 660-663.

White, W. H., T. E. Regan, and O. Sosa, jr. 1995. The sugarcane delphacid (Homoptera: Delphacidae) extends its North American range into Louisiana. Florida Entomologist 78(4): 617-619.

Vercambre, B. 2010. Biology and population dynamics of the potential sugarcane Fiji disease vector Perkinsiella saccharicida (Homoptera: Delphacidae) in Réunion: evidence of its loss of biotic potential. CIRAD 1-17, Montpellier.